Humanity's Heroes
by L-Shadows-Fades
Summary: The 104th. The Elric Brothers. Death's Meisters. The Son of Satan. Some of them have saved the world once already. Some of them were destined to. Destiny, however, has other ideas. The champions of humanity are brought together, and their stories merged into one. Alan Walker's job is to find out why, and to undo the unknown forces pulling the strings.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing Medusa noticed about the place was the ground, seeing as she woke up with her face against it. The ground here was made of rock- volcanic, in look and texture- and under the cracks came a blinding red light that appeared to be the calm flow of lava coursing between the cracks in the ground. The rock itself should have been hot, if that was the case, but to her surprise just the opposite seemed to hold true- it was almost unpleasantly cold to touch.

She stood up slowly, and looked around, only to find that there wasn't much to see. The only source of light seemed to come from the rocks below her. Everything else was black. The sky- if there even was one, this could be a giant cave for all she knew- offered no moon or even stars to light the way, and the horizon was the same pitch black as what was above and below. The strangest sight, however, was the ground off in the distance; the light from underground seemed to only appear in some areas. In fact, very little of the ground actually was illuminated by this threatening glow.

Medusa walked a little ways, treading lightly on the rock under her, until she came close to one of these dark spots. The witch knelt down and examined the area. It seemed at first to just be a smooth part of the terrain. Still, she knew that it was best to apply caution to this unknown situation, so she didn't allow herself to step onto it. Instead, she found a small pebble, and gently tossed it a few feet away from her, in the direction of the darkness. She expected to hear the faint sound of the pebble hitting the ground.

She heard nothing. The spot in front of her appeared to be a kind of pitfall.

She backed away swiftly, and looked around. _How much of this ominous area is covered in pitfalls such as these, _She wondered. _Where do they lead?_ _Somewhere even darker? _She wasn't usually bothered by darkness in the slightest, but there was almost nothing about this place that didn't bother her greatly.

Still, she decided that there was no good in standing motionlessly here, and that as long as she stuck to the winding path in the rock where the light shone through, she would be okay. She proceeded along the path slowly, checking her surroundings with every step. She walked calmly, not hesitating, but not very fast either. Her energy was mostly dedicated to her thoughts, as she tried to figure out what was going on.

She thought back to her last memory before waking up here- at her hideout in the desert. She had just delivered a fatal blow to that worthless son of hers, and was in combat with one of his schoolmates. This girl was a meister, like her own son, and wielded a powerful looking sythe by the name of Soul Evans. Maka Albarn was her name, and she was just about the most annoying girl Medusa had ever met. Still, the witch had to admit that Maka had bested her in combat, and even managed to save the professor she had kidnapped and manipulated into doing her bidding. Medusa could only hope that her last words had at least shaken the girl up a little.

So now what? Was she dead? Probably. She specifically remembered dying, though it hadn't been the first time. Maybe not the last, either. She didn't remember being dead though, and she certainly didn't remember being here, so something must have been different.

She kept walking down the path for some time, her bare feet making no noise against the rocks below her. She could have made noise if she wanted, but chose to remain silent so that she would hear anything that happened around her. And after a while, she did.

She stopped. The footsteps behind her did too. The sound came from a couple yards away at most, she figured. So someone else was sent here, too? Or was she about to find out who- or what- lived here? Medusa spun around smoothly and, with a silent command, conjured several deadly vector arrows and pointed them at her target. One wrong move, and the newcomer would be dead before they could cover any ground.

The light from her spell allowed Medusa to examine her prey, and what she saw took her by surprise. Before her gaze stood a woman much younger looking than herself. She stood taller and firmer than Medusa, and had long, dark hair that contrasted Medusa's short blonde hair. In fact, just about everything about the two seemed to contrast. Medusa's dirty clothes were made to stand out even more in the presence of the woman's long black dress, the bottom of which was invisible against the rocky platform they stood on. She had black gloves to match, and stood in an elegant manner. In fact, she would have looked like an ordinary human with the exception of the ominous looking tattoo of a dragon just below her collarbone.

The woman made eye contact with Medusa; here, the witch saw the biggest contrast of all. Both women had a look of evil in their eyes, but Medusa wore the look of a wild animal. The newcomer, however, had a sense of tranquility in her eyes; Tranquility that hinted at something darker, much darker, hidden beneath the surface. This woman, from what Medusa could tell, had the power to kill, but didn't think much of it. She simply killed when it suited her, not feeling anger, or passion or anything at all towards her victims. That was the aura the witch got from the woman. And she liked her already.

Medusa canceled her spell, and abandoned her fighting stance. The woman didn't move, but took the time to look around once the tense moment had passed. It was a few seconds before Medusa spoke.

"What do you know about this place?" She asked the woman. She received no answer, so instead asked another question. "Who are you?"The woman did not look at Medusa, but after a few moments had passed, she did answer.  
"You can call me Lust" came the soft yet firm sound of her voice. A pause, and then "I don't know anything about this place, or how I came to be here"

Medusa sighed. It was a disappointing revelation, but at least she wasn't alone anymore.

"And you?" Lust asked as if she didn't care whether she got an answer or not.

"Call me Medusa" the which replied matter-of-fact-ly.

"You're not human" Lust observed after a minute. Medusa could hardly be surprised by this realization. She had, after all, almost unleashed a spell on her new ally, but she was still unused to the question. She did make it a habit to keep her identity a secret from most, and she was quite good at it.

"...no." she replied quietly. "From the way you handled yourself earlier, I'm going to guess that you're not either". Lust shook her head.

"You probably wouldn't understand what I am even if I told you, so I'll just leave it at that." Medusa laughed.

"Try me" she smiled. "I've seen a lot more than you might believe" Lust opened her mouth the speak, but before any words came out, the only source of light in the room disappeared.

Both women were silent; The faint sound of rumbling came from far below. Then, gradually, it became louder and felt closer. They could feel it under their feet. The tremors surrounded them, and they both struggled to keep their footing. Then, suddenly, the rumbling stopped. The ground was still and the only noise was the faint sound of rock shifting. It came from right behind them.

The light turned back on, but shone with an energetic blue light this time. The blue light shone a lot farther than the red one from before, and allowed Medusa to inspect the area fully. They were both indeed in a giant cave, only the top of it was miles high. Below were indeed pitfalls, so deep that the light did not show the bottom of them. Medusa backed away from the edge of the path, and turned around. That's when she saw it.

It appeared to be a giant made of rocks. It's eyes were the same blue as the light from below, and it's body was covered in cracks as well, which shone with the blue light. Medusa summoned an array of vector arrows, and adopted a fighting stance. Lust straightened out her slender arm, and pointed her fingers towards the center of the Golem.

Nobody moved for a few seconds. Then, with alarming speed that should have been impossible for such a huge beast, the rock monster slammed a fist into the ground, crushing the area Medusa had just been standing. Luckily, Medusa was slightly faster. The monster lifted up it's hand, and Medusa saw Lust, lying on the ground. She had taken the full force of the blow, and she wasn't getting up.

Medusa was disappointed at the loss of a possible new comrade, but she had to focus on defeating this monster. She jumped, dodged another swing from the beast while airborne, and landed on it's shoulder. She examined the body, looking for a weakness. One was found without difficulty- _If I just use the cracks to my advantage, I can just tear it apart piece by piece_, she said inwardly. _I have to keep it from killing me at the same time, though._ However, she noticed that the beast wasn't even looking at her anymore- it was locked onto the spot where it's fist had just come down; where Lust was now standing, adopting the same fighting stance as before. The woman eyed Medusa.

"Witch, you'll want to move. I believe we have the same idea" Medusa nodded, and vaulted back to the platform that Lust occupied. While Medusa was in the air, Lust struck.

Her fingers extended into long, sharp blades. Two went through the creature's empty eye sockets, and one through a hole in the neck. All three protruded from the back of the head, and when the woman closed her hand into a fist, it's head was crushed. Lust could help but smile. Medusa landed and stared at the gaping hole where the monster's head once was. _What exactly was this woman?_ she wondered.

The beast wasn't dead yet, though. It still stirred, not attacking for the moment. Lust raised her arm again, but Medusa had a better plan.

"No, not yet! Wait for my signal!", she shouted. Lust kept her arm raised, but did not attack. Then, with a sudden roar, the headless beast raised an arm high above it's head, ready to strike. "Now! Pin the arm!" Lust fired her blades into the wrist of the creature, suspending the arm in midair. In apparent rage, the beast attempted to swing with it's other arm, but Lust pinned that one with her free hand.

"Now what?" Lust asked impatiently. Medusa grinned.

"Now... Vector Arrow!" She shouted. Six black arrows appeared in the air around her, slithering and hissing eagerly. Medusa paused, then pointed at the Golem's chest. Her arrows shot through the air, piercing the armored body. She pressed her hands together, paused again, and then spoke. "Kill" She commanded, as she threw her arms apart.

The beast exploded into a shower of boulders falling down the shaft. Her arrows returned to her, wrapping themselves around her arms and legs, and dissolving into her skin. She laughed triumphantly, staring down into the pit she had just sent the beast hurtling into. Lust eyed her with a new found respect.

"You fight ruthlessly" She noticed. "You used the most cunning strategy at our disposal. It never stood a chance"

The light changed again. The blue light dimmed and faded away swiftly, followed by the almost immediate return of the red tone from before. Accompanying this, however, was a new voice.

"I think you two have passed" It rang. "I have great plans for you"

"What now?" Medusa muttered. Lust was ready to fight again, eying the room for another threat. The voice came again.

"There's no point being on the offensive. As powerful as you are, you wouldn't stand a chance against me"

Lust did not let her guard down. She extended her claws, and frantically searched the cave for the source of the voice. Medusa, on the other hand, tried speaking to it.

"What is it you want? And who are you anyway?" The voice let out a loud laugh, and responded to Medusa.

"How about I show you instead?" It offered. Medusa tensed up, and summoned her arrows. The pair stood back to back, ready to fight whatever was thrown at them next. Just then, the light went out again. They waited, motionlessly, but this time it didn't come back on.


	2. Chapter 2

Today wasn't going well for Jean Kirschtein. Not at all.

He hadn't wanted to be a part of the 57th expedition outside of the walls anyway, but he knew that sitting it out wasn't an option, and that Eren would never have let it go if Jean decided to sit out- even just this once. So he went, already annoyed from having to wake up earlier than usual. Then, after hours of riding, they came to a forest with colossal trees and decided to set up camp for the night. That is, until three unique variant titans showed up, and caught the squad off guard. Everyone who could had gotten on their horses and fled upon seeing them. Jean's horse, however, had been spooked and ran off without him. Abandoned and feeling gutted, Jean had used his 3DMG to propel himself onto the nearest tree. _I'll be safe up here_, he mused. _I'll catch up to the squad, and find my way home in no time_.

Hours later, he found himself standing on a much lower branch of a different tree, feeling much less hopeful. He had ran out of gas, and had managed to lose all but one of his blades. To make matters worse, one of the titans still hadn't gotten bored of following him around the forest, and was now patiently standing under the tree, waiting for it's soon ot be prey. It looked up. It's yellow eyes looked directly into Jeans, and stared up at him with a devilish grin. Jean's eyes widened in panic, and he almost lost his footing.

"Damn" He muttered, looking around frantically. He could stay up in the tree for a while yet, but who was to say that the variant below him wouldn't just stand there all through the night and the next day? Most titans only remained active during the day, for unknown reasons, but variants were unpredictable. Jean, on the other hand, was only human. He could already feel his legs struggling to stay upright, and he was out of ideas.

A shape moved off in the distance, a few hundred yards away. Jean squinted, and after a while, he could make out the figure of a teenager walking towards the titan. His clothes weren't at all like the Scouting Regiment's uniform, though, or any he had seen before. The person wore black clothes, and despite his young appearance, his hair appeared to be gray.

Alan Walker was his name, and while Jean was watching him, he was staring back at Jean and wondering what the giant in front of him was. It obviously wasn't human, but it didn't seem to be a demon- at least, not the kind of demon he was used to hunting- either. His special left eye would have alerted him to a threat of that kind. Still, he took off his gloves, and kept his guard up as he made his way over to the tree which they occupied.

The titan allowed Alan to come within shouting distance of Jean before noticing him. Upon being given the option, it turned around, evidently wanting to go after the easier prey. Alan stood firm, a few paces away. He knew better than to get close, but knew that running wouldn't get him anywhere. He could sense that Jean was trapped, and made it his goal to rescue him.

"Are you suicidal?" Jean shouted worriedly. "Run while you still can!" Alan looked up at him, and shouted back.

"Don't worry, I've got this!" The exorcist assured his comrade. Then he spoke to the titan. "I'll only say this once. What ever you are, don't come any closer. I don't want to have to hurt you".

The grin on the titan's face didn't disappear, as the five meter tall mass lumbered toward him. Each stomp of it's colossal feet sent a tremor though the earth, but Alan didn't even flinch.

Jean shouted even louder now. "You don't even have a weapon! What good will dying do?" Alan didn't break eye contact with the monster.

"I warned you" he muttered under his breath, before raising his left arm above his head. In a flash of light that blinded the titan and Jean, his arm transformed into an giant, armored claw. In one swipe, he brought it down on the titan, sending it flying backwards and ripping it's chest open. It's body smashed into the trunk of the tree Jean was in, and it didn't appear to be moving. After a few seconds, Alan was satisfied that he had finished the fight and headed towards Jean. In one effortless leap, he landed on a branch a few feet down from Jean's. He smiled up at the frightened soldier, only to see that his expression of terror had not changed. Alan frowned.

"I'm sorry if I scared you" He offered. "I'm Alan Walker, and I'm not a threat, I promise". Jean muttered something, urgently, at a volume Alan couldn't make out. "I'm sorry?"

Jean swallowed. His voice was shaking, and he looked even more scared than before. His eyes met Alan's, but it didn't seem to be Alan he was afraid of. He looked like he was urging Alan to do something, but the boy couldn't tell what. Then, after a few more seconds,

"It's... not... dead!"

The next thing Alan knew, he was being lifted into the hair from behind, and slammed into the ground. Dazed and disoriented, he tried to comprehend the situation as the titan picked him up again. The blonde haired, golden eyed giant from before was holding him at eye level, a good 5 meters off the ground. The wound in it's chest had healed, and it didn't seem at all phased by the beating it received only a couple minutes ago. For the first time, Alan was scared. Was this monster immortal?

_No_, he reasoned. _Everything dies somehow_. His eyes narrowed, and he began scanning his opponent for a possible weak spot. Obviously attacking the chest wouldn't work, so how about the head? That would stop him from being eaten at least... _No_, he decided. _Too obvious._ _It might see that coming, and be able to counter it. Anyway, can I even reach the head from here? _Suddenly, the hand moved. Alan was being drawn towards the titan's face, and it's mouth was opening.

"I'm only gonna have one shot" Alan muttered. He focused on the titan, desperately trying to figure out what angle would be effective to strike from, when his thoughts were disrupted by Jean shouting down from the tree.

"The neck! Attack the nape of the thing's neck! It's the only way to kill it!"

Alan frowned. _The neck? Why would it be vulnerable there?_ He looked at Jean, and then at his own arm. _This soldier has no reason to lie to me_, he reasoned, _and he probably knows what he's talking about. I should trust him on this one_.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment. Then, when he sensed that he was a split second away from being inside the titan, his eyes shot open and he shouted.

"Innocence, Activate!"

...

Hours after the fight had ended, the pair was walking through the forest, and they were deep in conversation.

"So these titans have been a problem for as long as you can remember?" Alan asked the soldier.

Jean nodded. "I'd call it a war, but that would be saying it's a fair fight. Whatever this is, we're losing. Badly" His fist clenched. "A lot of my friends have been killed, and I probably almost died today." He looked at the ground. "Thank you... by the way"

Alan grinned. "Hey, that's what I'm here for! I'm sure you would have done the same for me." He got no response. Jean only grunted in acknowledgment. The silence that followed didn't last long, though, before something occurred to Jean.

"Hey! I don't know who you are or why you look so weird, but with that arm you could be a big help to the war effort!"

Alan looked confused. "I thought you said it wasn't a war?" He asked. Jean ignored him.

"With you helping the scouting legion, we could kill a lot more titans with less casualties. You have to speak to Commander Erwin when we get home!"

"Now now, I'm really flattered by the offer but I don't know anything about any of this" Alan spoke, panicked. "I didn't come here to fight in a war"

Jean looked gutted. "What did you come here for, then, anyway?"

Alan stared off in the distance. "I was send here by my superiors to... track someone down" He said, slowly. "He's a menace to humanity who we refer to as 'The Millennium Earl'- an evil being who preys off of the suffering of humans, and uses that suffering to forge demonic, human slaying weapons of mass destruction called 'akuma'." He cringed. "I'm starting to understand why the Earl might use a place like this for his operations"

Jean stared at him blankly. Alan shook his head, and apologized. "I guess that was a bit much to try and explain all at once. Just promise me one thing, okay? If someone comes to you and offers to bring a loved one back from the dead, don't listen to them."

Jean gritted his teeth and nodded, grudgingly. Alan sighed. "I can't expect that to be an easy request. You and everyone else in those walls must have lost a lot. I know how it feels to lose-"

Jean interrupted him. "Look, up there! We're coming to the end of the forest" He pointed towards the break in the trees up ahead, and sure enough there seemed to be a light coming from beyond them. "It's probably going to be night soon, so most of the titans won't be active. Still, once we get out, they'll be able to see us a lot more easily. Of course, we'll be able to see them more easily, too. Only..." He clutched his blade. "I'm not gonna be of much use in a fight, without my gear in decent condition. So... I'm gonna have to rely on you not to get us killed"

Alan nodded. "Sure, I can handle that. But... I don't really get what you mean about the titans. Do they go to sleep at night?"

Jean shook his head. "It's not sleep, but we have no idea what it is. Either way, we'll be safe once the sun goes down, but I don't really want to wait for that to happen"

Alan nodded again. "Okay. I'm ready when you are." The two walked out of the woods, and broke into a light jog.

"I don't look that weird, do I?" Alan murmured to himself, irritated.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey! Al, put me down!" A boy shouted to his brother. The boy's name was Edward Elric, and he had two very obvious characteristics which set him apart from others, usually both apparent at first glance. The first was his height. At only 4'11", he was unusually short for a 15 year old boy. The second was his uncontrollable temper- usually aimed at those who pointed out the height issue. And at that moment, that was the exact cause of his outburst.

"Al, let me at him! That punk thinks he can call me a little pip-squeak runt and get away with it? I'll kick his ass!" He continued shouting, unable to touch the ground due to the height he was being held at.

His brother, Alphonse, was usually the one to keep his brother's temper in check. Al was a much more mild mannered kid, and at only 14 he was often regarded as being wise beyond his age. He was well liked by most, and very agreeable. However, his older brother often found ways of getting them both in trouble, and on occasions like these, it came down to Al to keep the peace. This usually involved not letting Ed start fights with everyone who noticed his height.

Al had a unique characteristic as well; He didn't have a real body. His soul controlled a hollow suit of armor instead, meaning that his height almost doubled Ed's.

The man Ed was shouting at simply laughed. "You mean to threaten a captain of the Military Police, shorty?" He mocked. "I could have you shot right now and no one would argue. These people all heard you threaten me" He gestured to the crowd of curious onlookers surrounding them all. Ed only got angrier.

"Just try it! I'll take you on, and won't even break a sweat! Al! Put. Me. Down. Now"

"Brother..." He urged, "Stop it. We don't know where we are, and making this man angry is the last thing we need"

The man stopped smiling. "Alright, the joke's over. You're gonna get shot now" He pulled his rifle from off of his back, and loaded it. Al gasped, and dropped Ed, who was sensible enough at least to not move with a gun pointed to his head. "You kids need to be taught a lesson" He looked at Al. "And don't think that freakish suit of armor is gonna protect you if you try anything. Maybe I'll keep it for myself after all this is done. Now I'll give you one last chance, boys" He looked back at Ed, who shot him a defiant look. "Just say you're sorry, and I might let you off with just a beating" Ed spat in his direction, and blew him a raspberry. Al sighed.

The man flared up. He took aim at Ed and went for the trigger. Ed was ready. "Al, Now!" He shouted. Al grabbed Ed, and turned around so that his older brother wouldn't be hit by the bullet. Ed wasted no time. He dived under Al's legs, and broke into a sprint. His gloved hand connected with an uppercut right into the man's jaw. There was an audible crack, and the man went flying into a house some distance behind him. Ed sneered. "Looks like you're the one getting off with a beating"

The crowd let out a gasp. Ed turned around, and instantly found the source of it. The bullet that missed Ed had hit Al's helmet, knocking it off and sending it flying. Of course, Ed knew Al couldn't be hurt that easily, but they did have another problem. Every person in the crowd could clearly see that there wasn't a head where Al's should have been. Every person, having looked jovial and curious before, now stared at the younger brother with wide eyes and pointed with trembling hands, as a collective gasp sounded through the street.

"Aw, damn" Ed sighed. "Do we really have to explain it to all these people?" He asked Al. Al picked up his helmet, and put it back on.

"We don't want to scare everyone. I'm sure if we just explain, it will be worth the time. But you don't have to mention every detail"

Ed sighed again. "I guess you're right" He admitted, then turned to the crowd.

Before he could speak, however, Al had eight rifles aimed at him, with one rifleman on Ed for good measure. Apparently, someone had called for military action already, and the officer Ed had knocked down was struggling to stand up already, clutching his jaw and panting as he tried to speak.

"What... the hell... are you kids?" He spat. The crowed began to speak in hushed whispers, and the brothers looked around nervously.

"Ed! What are we going to do?" Al stammered. The boys were used to scaring people with their appearance, but never had they received a reception this hostile before.

"I don't know. Just stay calm, I'll think of a way out of this" Ed replied in a hushed voice.

The captain spoke as a couple soldiers helped him to his feet. "Alright. I don't know how we go about killing a suit of armor. So we're going to take these two to Commander Nile, in Wall Sina. He'll decide how to handle it" The soldiers nodded, and one prodded Ed with his rifle.

"Okay, Okay! Quit shoving, I'm going already"

…

On the other side of the world, a different set of brothers sat on a mountaintop. Their ages paralleled that of the Elric brothers, and that wasn't the only similarity. The elder, bad tempered Rin Okumura sighed as he extinguished the blue flame in front of him. "Why are we all the way out here training, again?" He asked his brother.

Yukio, the younger but more experienced of the two, eyed his brother. "I thought it would be productive for you to train far away from the distractions of Cram School. You have a lot of work to do if you want to stand a chance at fighting Satan for real" He responded. Rin nodded grudgingly. They had recently encountered the Lord of the Underworld (and their biological father) Satan, in combat. The two brothers' strength combined was barley enough to keep him at bay, and they knew they hadn't seen the last of him.

Yukio smiled, and took out a keyring from his pocket. "Hey, we're not that far away from our friends, remember?" Rin looked up at him, and smiled back.

"Yeah, I know! Using those keys, we can instantly travel through any door way and get back to the school, huh? And there's a village just a few minutes hike down from here"

Yukio nodded, and a stern look returned to his face. Though he had been a lot easier on his older brother since the two worked together to save the world from Satan only months ago, Yukio occasionally had to remind himself that Rin was still his student. Like it or not, Rin still had a lot to learn. "First, let's get this exercise right. I want you to sustain a flame for five minutes in these conditions, and then I will deem this trip a success."

Rin closed his eyes. As he did so, a ball of blue fire materialized in midair. The harsh wind made the fire dance and flicker in the air, but it did not go out. As Rin focused more of his energy on it, the ball pulsed with energy and grew slightly bigger. Yukio reprimanded him. "Remember, Rin, it's not allowed to get too big or too small or you fail the exercise"

Rin was struggling now. The wind was not only disrupting the flame, but it was unsettling against his skin. His eyes were closed tightly, and the ball was getting smaller. Rin was determined not to let go of it, but after a few more seconds, he did.

The flame went out, and disappeared as the mountain side became dark again, lit only by the boys' torches. Yukio sighed as Rin opened his eyes, but before the two could say anything another voice broke the silence.

"Is that all you've got? I expected more from the champion of humanity, Son of Satan". The brothers spun around to find the voice of the intruder. Standing a few feet away was a sinister looking figure. He spoke in a high, gravely voice, and had long black hair that came down to his shoulders. He eyed the brothers with narrowed yellow eyes, and spoke in a way that wasn't so much speaking as growling. "Then again" He sneered. "You're not exactly the first champion humanity's had, and you certainly won't be the last"

Yukio didn't waste a second. He had his twin pistols loaded and pointed at the newcomer before he could advance any closer. In response, he laughed. "Stupid brat. You'd already be dead if I was allowed to hurt you, so don't get any ideas". Yukio growled, and fired four shots at the newcomer's head; the reaction was simply laughter. The man shielded his face with his palm, and four bullets fell silently into the snow under him. He snarled. "Done? My turn"

The man was in front of Yukio in a second. Before the boy could attack, he found himself being repeatedly kneed in the stomach. The villain was ruthlessly pounding away at him, draining every last bit of strength, until the guns fell from his hands and his eyes closed, defeated. He drapped Yukio over his shoulder, and started to walk away.

"Bastard!" Rin shouted. He pulled his sword out of it's sheath, and lunged. The man was ready, however, and landed a backhand into Rin's chest. Met with unexpectedly huge force, Rin was thrown back into the mountain side behind him. Seconds after landing in the snow he started to pull himself up, but the man planted his boot on Rin's head, pushing his face into the icy ground.

"You think being the son of Satan makes you the biggest fish in the pond?" The man shouted. Rin struggled more under his foot, trying to push himself up, but the man was unnaturally heavy for his relativity small size. Rin was helpless.

"Remember kid, if I wanted you dead, you'd already be back home with daddy". The man let his foot up and started to walk away, but turned back after he was almost out of sight. "Oh yeah, I was supposed to give you this" He muttered, before throwing a single key down in front of Rin's head. The key had an odd pattern. Black in color, except for the handle, which was white and had a comical looking skull painted on it. Rin looked up at the man, who simply shrugged.

"All I know is that you need that if you ever want to see your brother again" He said matter-of-fact-ly. "You use it just like any of your brother's"

"Wait!" Rin shouted. "Who are you? How do you..." His voice trailed off. The man was already out of sight, and it took all of Rin's strength just to keep breathing.

"Rukio..." He spat, as his arms trembled under his own weight. "I'm coming for you"


End file.
